Randonneur 5000The highest award from Audax Club Parisien that randonneurs can obtain is the Randonneur 5000.The Randonneur 5000 award is a multi-season award for which riders must complete the following rides within any continuous four season period:· a Super Randonneur series (200km, 300km, 400km and 600km rides in one season);· a Fleche Velocio (such as the Fleche Opperman);· a 1000km ride;· a Paris-Brest-Paris 1200km ride; and· 950km of other Brevets de Randonneurs Mondiaux events (200km or greater),making a total of not less than 5000km of homologated rides.

The Randonneur 5000 (as at the end of the 2008 season) has been award 1432 times since 1961; 127 times to 102 women and 1305 times to 1088 men. Two women (Deirdre Arscott and Nicole Chabirand) have each received it 6 times while Jean-Claude Chabirand has achieved the award 8 times!

2008 was a year where for the first time more than 100 recipients received the award in one year (130) and the first time that Bulgarian and Japanese randonneurs appeared in the awards list.

In January this year, your National Committee approved the new Awards Policy. Members will recall that the Policy has been under consideration for some time. Draft policy was prepared by Committee Members and comments sought through Checkpoint in Spring 2010 and Regional committees; Members provided input to the Committee directly and through their State Representatives. Drafting proper commenced and the new Awards Policy was debated line by line, award by award. Many details were finalised at the Lancefield Conference in October 2011 and the finetuning done by email and teleconference after that.

The new Policy simplifies the overall structure so that there are four main riding award types – there are defined ride awards and cumulative distance awards – each available for single season awards and multi season awards.

For single season Awards requiring the completion of defined rides, the old faithfuls are there – Super Randonneur Series in the standard form, but also the Gran Turismo, and the Interstate. The new Cumulative distance Audax Australia Annual Awards will be given to recognise riding milestones from 1,000 to 10,000 km per annum – pick a target and aim high for your riding goals. The Year Round Randonneur will now be an award available on application like all others.

For multi season Awards requiring the completion of defined rides, the Woodrup 5000 continues its traditional role but the new Ultra Randonneur requires 10 Super Randonneurs and 10 rides of over 1,000 km – truly a goal for a long distance cyclist. And the new cumulative distance Australian Randonneur Award will be available to honour riders whose lifetime achievements in Audax riding range from 25,000 to 150,000 kms.

A suite of new awards will be designed and featured on our website and in a future Checkpoint. And new application forms are being prepared.

The award application period is being split to spread the workload of our busy Awards Secretary Enid Halton. She has kindly agreed to commence accepting applications for the Ultra Randonneur and the Australian Randonneur Awards from 1 March to 1 September this year. Qualifiers will be presented with their Awards at the AGM in January next year.

Happy Riding

Kerri-Ann

Audax Australia Badges and Awards

Riders successfully completing an Audax Australia event can purchase either an embroidered cloth patch or medallion, depending upon the distance and type of event, in recognition of their achievement.

Audax Australia cloth patches for road rides are available for brevets of 200 km or less.

For dirt ride events a separate series of cloth patches is available

There is a range of cumulative awards for members and each successfully completed ride may count towards a single annual award and a single multi-year award.

In January this year, your National Committee approved the new Awards Policy. Members will recall that the Policy has been under consideration for some time. Draft policy was prepared by Committee Members and comments sought through Checkpoint in Spring 2010 and Regional committees; Members provided input to the Committee directly and through their State Representatives. Drafting proper commenced and the new Awards Policy was debated line by line, award by award. Many details were finalised at the Lancefield Conference in October 2011 and the finetuning done by email and teleconference after that.

The new Policy simplifies the overall structure so that there are four main riding award types – there are defined ride awards and cumulative distance awards – each available for single season awards and multi season awards.

For single season Awards requiring the completion of defined rides, the old faithfuls are there – Super Randonneur Series in the standard form, but also the Gran Turismo, and the Interstate. The new Cumulative distance Audax Australia Annual Awards will be given to recognise riding milestones from 1,000 to 10,000 km per annum – pick a target and aim high for your riding goals. The Year Round Randonneur will now be an award available on application like all others.

For multi season Awards requiring the completion of defined rides, the Woodrup 5000 continues its traditional role but the new Ultra Randonneur requires 10 Super Randonneurs and 10 rides of over 1,000 km – truly a goal for a long distance cyclist. And the new cumulative distance Australian Randonneur Award will be available to honour riders whose lifetime achievements in Audax riding range from 25,000 to 150,000 kms.

A suite of new awards will be designed and featured on our website and in a future Checkpoint. And new application forms are being prepared.

The award application period is being split to spread the workload of our busy Awards Secretary Enid Halton. She has kindly agreed to commence accepting applications for the Ultra Randonneur and the Australian Randonneur Awards from 1 March to 1 September this year. Qualifiers will be presented with their Awards at the AGM in January next year.